The whistler

After 5 days of intense training, they finally achieved a true understanding of their powers. But it wasn't all exhausting sessions. They also went out a couple of times to buy some necessary things... like underwear.

Both wanted to pretend normalcy, but embarrassment got the better of them. In the end, they only dared to buy the bottom half, because it was inevitable, but for the top they opted for sports bras. There were limits they simply couldn't cross yet.

The first time they entered the store, Sue almost ran out. Chia had to grab her arm and remind her that nobody knew them in this form. Even so, both made their purchases at record speed, avoiding eye contact with any employee and paying at the self-checkout.

—I never thought buying underwear would be so traumatic.

Sue murmured as they walked back to the apartment, carrying their discreet bags.

—At least now we won't feel like the hoodie is torturing us with every movement.

Chia responded with a sigh of relief.

On the other hand, with their powers:

Chia discovered she could control ice and darkness, shaping shadows that obeyed her will. At first, the shadows were simple amorphous forms that barely responded to her mental commands. But with practice, she learned to give them structure, solidity, even purpose.

She could create swords of crystallized darkness, so sharp they cut through the air with an unsettling hiss. She built walls of black ice that rose from the ground as if they had always been there, waiting to be summoned. The shadows danced around her like extensions of her own body, instinctively protecting her from any threat.

She also developed a barrier of surprising resistance, so solid that not even Sue's fire, released at maximum power, could damage it. The first time they tried it was completely by accident.

Sue had lost control of a particularly intense burst of flame during practice. The golden fire expanded in all directions, roaring with an intensity that made the windows vibrate. By pure instinct, Chia extended her hands and a dome of darkness materialized around her, completely absorbing the impact.

When the fire dissipated, both stood staring at the intact dome, jaws dropped.

—Did you just...?

—I think so...

They both ended up impressed... and a bit frightened by the implications of what they had just witnessed.

Sue, for her part, learned to master fire and light with an almost innate ease. Her flames could be as soft as candlelight or as fierce as a forest fire. She learned to mold them, to shape them, to control their temperature with millimeter precision.

She could create spheres of fire that floated around her like small suns, illuminating everything in their path. Spears of pure light that pierced through the air leaving golden trails. She even managed to create something resembling a fire phoenix, though she still struggled to maintain complex forms for more than a few minutes.

But the most disconcerting thing was an extra ability they didn't expect: a kind of healing energy. They discovered it by chance during the third day of training.

Chia had accidentally cut herself with one of her own ice crystals. The wound wasn't deep, but it bled enough to worry Sue. Without thinking, Sue placed her hand over the cut, and a warm golden light emanated from her palms.

Both watched fascinated as the wound closed before their eyes, the skin regenerating as if it had never been damaged. Not even a scar remained.

—Did you just heal me?

Chia asked, examining her completely healed hand.

—It seems so...

Sue responded, equally surprised.

They confirmed it again when Sue managed to revitalize the half-dead plant Chia had on her desk. It was a small cactus that had been forgotten for weeks, with its dull spines and its body wrinkled from dehydration.

Sue extended her hands over the plant, and that same golden light began to flow. The withered leaves recovered their color in a matter of seconds, as if someone had returned the breath of life to them. The cactus straightened, its spines gleamed with renewed vigor, and a small pink flower even sprouted at its top.

—This is... incredible.

Chia murmured, gently touching the petals of the newly born flower.

—And a bit terrifying.

Sue added.

—If I can heal and give life... what else can I do?

Both fell silent, contemplating the implications of their discoveries. Their powers were complementary in an almost poetic way: darkness and light, cold and heat, destruction and healing.

However, despite how impressive their abilities were, there was another matter they couldn't ignore while training: their perception of their own gender.

They had been men their entire lives. They saw themselves as men, thought like men, acted like men. But now, their bodies were completely female. There was no way to deny or ignore it, especially after having to buy women's underwear.

The conversation arose one night, after a particularly exhausting session. They were sitting on the apartment floor, still catching their breath, when Sue finally broke the uncomfortable silence that had been floating between them for days.

—We need to talk about this.

she said, looking at her own hands.

—About what?

Chia asked, though she already knew exactly what she meant.

—About... us. About what we are now.

The deliberation was long, uncomfortable, full of pauses and sighs. They discussed for hours, weighing every aspect of their new reality.

In the end, they reached a pragmatic conclusion: they would recognize themselves as women. Biologically they were, and there was no way to change that fact. Their bodies responded like female bodies, functioned like female bodies. Trying to deny it would be like swimming against an impossible current.

But that would be all. Just that.

Everything else would remain intact. Their sexual orientation, their tastes, their thoughts, their way of seeing the world... all of that remained completely masculine. They were men trapped in women's bodies, and no magic or transformation could change decades of experiences, memories, and identity formation.

—So, are we women who think like men?

Chia asked, trying to process the conclusion they had reached.

—I suppose so.

Sue responded with a bitter laugh.

—It's strange, but it's the most honest we can be with ourselves.

—With ourselves.

Chia corrected automatically, before stopping.

—Or... ourselves? This is going to take time to get used to.

—A long time.

Sue agreed.

With their philosophical problems resolved, at least for the moment, an inevitable point arrived: what would they do now?

They asked themselves this in the middle of the night, trying to find an answer.

They had powers. Real, tangible, incredible powers. They could do things that no ordinary human being could even dream of. And with those powers came an implicit responsibility. They could help their nation, protect people, make a real difference in the world.

But before they could even begin to plan their next step, something strange happened.

A whistle.

At first it was barely perceptible, like a distant hum that could easily be confused with the wind or city noise. But the sound persisted, constantly changing pitch, rising and falling in an unsettling melody that followed no recognizable pattern.

—Do you hear that?

Sue asked, frowning.

—Yes...

Chia responded, turning her head trying to identify the origin of the sound.

—I thought it was my imagination.

They ignored it for a few minutes, trying to focus on their conversation. But the more time passed, the more aware they became of the whistle. It infiltrated their thoughts, a constant presence they couldn't shake off.

It was as if the sound was calling them, drawing them in.

Finally, curiosity and unease overcame them. They stood up almost at the same time and walked toward the apartment window. Sue slowly drew the curtain, and both peered toward the street.

What they saw left them completely frozen.

There, across the street, was a creature slowly entering a house. Its form was visible through the half-open door and illuminated windows.

It stood at least five meters tall, with a lanky and disproportionate body that seemed stretched beyond what was natural. Its limbs were abnormally long, ending in bony fingers that twisted at impossible angles. Its skin had the color of a corpse, a sickly gray that seemed to absorb light rather than reflect it.

It wore a torn and old t-shirt that hung from its skeletal body in tatters, revealing pieces of its cadaverous skin. On its head it wore a worn and frayed straw hat, tilted in a disturbing way. Its bare feet dragged across the ground with a raspy sound that mixed with its constant whistling.

Over its shoulder it carried an enormous dirty and torn sack, from which unmistakable parts protruded: pale fingers, the end of a femur, tangled strands of hair. The sack shook slightly with each step of the creature, as if its macabre contents still had some life left.

But the worst were its eyes and its smile.

The eyes were sunken deep into their sockets, lifeless, like dark pits that contained nothing but emptiness. And its mouth... a grotesque smile literally cut from ear to ear, revealing rows of irregular and stained teeth. The smile conveyed no joy, only pure malice that sent chills down to the bone.

The creature moved with deliberate slowness, as if savoring each step it took toward the interior of the house, dragging its sinister sack behind it.

And it kept whistling.

—What the hell is that?

Chia whispered, feeling a shiver run down her spine.

—I don't know, but whatever it is, it's not something good.

Sue responded, clenching her fists as she felt heat beginning to accumulate in her palms.

Chia whispered, feeling a shiver run down her spine.

Suddenly, something clicked in her memory. An ancient legend she had heard years ago, in one of those late-night conversations where horror stories were shared. Her face paled.

—Wait... it can't be.

she murmured, her eyes wide open.

—What? Do you know it?

Sue asked, without taking her gaze off the creature.

—It's... it's El Silbón.

Chia said in a trembling voice.

—A Venezuelan legend. It's supposed to be the spirit of a parricide condemned to wander for all eternity, whistling and carrying his father's bones in a sack. He seeks out drunkards and unfaithful men to kill them.

Sue looked at her incredulously.

—Are you telling me that thing is real?

—Apparently so.

Chia responded.

—And it just entered that house.

The whistle changed pitch again, this time higher, almost like a distorted laugh that filtered from inside the dwelling. Then, a heart-wrenching scream cut through the night.

Both looked at each other, and in that instant they knew exactly what they had to do.